Largest lakes & reservoirs in Michigan by shoreline length
The length of the exterior shoreline around a lake is measured at the lake’s normal elevation. The shoreline length can be considerably shorter or longer when lake water levels are lower or higher than normal. A lake with many coves has a much longer shoreline than a lake of similar surface area that is nearly circular in shape.When known, the shoreline miles that we report in our statistics include only the lake’s exterior shoreline, and exclude the shorelines of islands located within a lake’s boundaries. In lakes with many islands, those islands’ combined shorelines may exceed a lake’s exterior shoreline.
You can find many of the world’s longest-shoreline lakes on LakeLubbers. Note: For some lakes, "Longest Shorelines" data is unknown or does not apply, so this table may display fewer lakes than the total 90 articles we have published for Michigan lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Midwest Region > Michigan > Compared by longest shoreline length in miles. This list does not represent all lakes in Michigan, only the 90 Michigan lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name | Shoreline length in miles | Lake description |
---|---|---|
Burt Lake, MI (Michigan, Northeast Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
33 mi | Also known as Chaboiganing Twenty miles south of the Straits of Mackinac is the ancient inland waterway from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. This series of connecting lakes and riv … |
Houghton Lake, MI (Michigan, Northeast Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
32 mi | Houghton Lake is a shallow, marshy lake with a sandy, gravely bottom. Warm in the summer, freezing over during the winter months, and staying cool dur … |
Walloon Lake, MI (Michigan, Northwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
30 mi | Walloon Lake – Hemingway’s Michigan. Ernest Hemingway was born here, spent 22 youthful summers here and came back to the lake for his honeymoon. The H … |
Mullett Lake, MI (Michigan, Northeast Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
28 mi | Mullett Lake is Michigan’s fifth largest lake, covering 17,360 acres with 28 shoreline miles. Sitting at the center of Michigan’s Inland Waterway, Mul … |
Elk Lake, MI (Michigan, Northwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
26 mi | A visit to Elk Lake is a fisherman’s dream come true. The huge lake is nearly 200 ft deep in some areas and is actually deep enough to offer lake trou … |
Cass Lake, MI (Michigan, Southeast Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
25 mi | Michigan is fortunate to have many fishing and water sport destination options. Cass Lake, just a 30-mile ride from Detroit, is a popular freshwater l … |
Muskegon Lake (Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA, West Central Michigan) |
25 mi | Also known as Lake Muskegon One of Michigan’s little-known vacation hotspots is Muskegon Lake. Lake Muskegon, as it is sometimes called, has been a major port on the eastern Lake … |
Fletcher Pond, MI (Michigan, Northeast Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
25 mi | Also known as Fletcher Flooding Fletcher Pond, also known as the Fletcher Flooding, is an impoundment first created in 1935 when the Alpena Power Company dammed the Upper South Branc … |
Manistique Lakes (Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA, Upper Peninsula Region, MI) |
23 mi | Also known as Big Manistique Lake, North Manistique Lake, South Manistique Lake, Millecoquins Lake, Milakokia Lake, Lake Ann Louise Manistique Lakes! Just the name is enough to evoke bouts of nostalgia in millions of past visitors. The lakes – North Manistique Lake at 1,722 acres, … |
Higgins Lake, MI (Michigan, Northeast Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
22 mi | With depths that average 52 feet and range as deep as 141 feet, the azure waters of Higgins Lake assure a remarkable transparency. Such crystalline wa … |
Crystal Lake, MI (Michigan, Northwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
21 mi | Also known as Cap Lake Crystal Lake, in northwestern Michigan’s Benzie County, wouldn’t be the beautiful sandy-shored lake it is today without the “Tragedy of Crystal Lake”. … |
Gull Lake, MI (Michigan, Southwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
19 mi | Gull Lake is a picturesque 2,030-acre natural lake in southwestern Michigan. The lake most likely got its name from the large number of seagulls that … |